Nia Impact Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Nia Impact Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,812 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Nia Impact Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $129.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.72. The company has a market capitalization of $224.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.59.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.